Web receiver and take-up mechanism for knitting-machines.



H. SWINGLEHURST.

WEB RECEIVER AND TAKE-UP MECHANISM FOR KNITTING MACHINES.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 25, 1912.

Patented May 6, 1913.

iNVENTOF? HARRY SWlNGLEHURST BY Hus ATTORNEY 1 Ell-l:

WITNESSES 7GMKJM nrnrnn i ternist canton.

HARRY SWINGLEHURST, 015 BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR T0 SCOTT & WIL-LIAMS, INCORPORATED, 075 CAMDEN, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEWJERSEY.

WEB RECEIVER AND TAKE-UP MECHANIShI FOR KNITTINGJVEACHINES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 6, 1933.

Application filed January 25, 193.2. Seria11 3'o. 673,391.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY Swrncnn- HURST, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing in Boston, Massachusetts, have invented certainImprovements in Web Receivers and Take-Up Mechanism. torKnitting-Machines, of which the f llowing is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of knitting machines which areintended for knitting stocking webs with seamless heel anc toe pocketsthereon, and in which the cylinder has rotating movement during theknitting of the tubular web for the leg or foot of the stocking andreciprocating or to-and-fto movement during the knitting of the heel andtoe pockets, the object of my invention being to lessen the shock andstrain upon the machine during the time that the reciprocating orto-and-tro movcment is being imparted to the cylinder. This object Iattain by disconnecting the parts carrying the web receiver or take-upmechanism from the cylinder during the reciprocating movements of thelatter.

In the accompanying drawingsFigure 1 is a view, partly in side elevationand partly in vertical section of sufiicient of a knit-ting machine toillustrate my invention; Fig. 2 isa-n enlarged view, partly in elevationad partly in transverse section, on the line Zd, Fig. 1; Fig. 8 is aside elevation of part of the take-up mechanism of the machine; Fig. 4is a vertical sectional view illustrating a certain adaptation of myinvention, and Fig. 5 is 'a sectional view illustrating one of theelements of the take-up operating device. In Fig. l of the drawings, 1represents part of the bed plate of the machine which has bearings for abevel wheel upon which is mounted the needle cylinder 3 or" the machine,the bewl wheel being intended to mesh with another bevel wheel on ashaft at one side of the machine, which shaft is provided with mechanismof any suitable character for imparting either rotary or to-an'd-t'romotion thereto. Such mechanism is known in that type of machine to Whichmy invention relates, and one form of such mechanism is shown anddescribed in Letters Patent of George D. Mayo, No. 126,178, dated April21, 1903, therefore I have not comidered it necessary to describe it.

The cylinder of the machine is mounted in a cylindrical carrier 3*which, in the present instance, forms part of the bevel wheel 2, thecylinder being mounted upon pins 4 which pass through openings in thebevel wheel and rest upon a ring 4*, the latter being contained in :1depending portion of the fixed frame 1 so that by raising or loweringsaid ring the cylinder 3 can be correspondingly raised or lowered. Othermeans of connecting the cylinder 3 to the bevel wheel 2 so that; itpartakes of either the rotary or to-and-fro movements of the latter may,however, be adopted within the scope or" my invention.

Below the cylinder of the machine is atrame 5 which, as shown in Fig. 1,is of cylindrical form, the knitted web being fed downwardly thereintoso that it constitutes a receiver for said knitted web, which may bepermitted to accumulate therein until a considerable lengthv of .webhas-been produced, whereupon the lower portion of the web may, at a timewhen the receiver is not rotating, be severed from the upper portion ofthe web and removed from the receiver, openings being formed in thesides of the receiver for permitting access to the Web for this purpose.

The receiver may or may not be provided with take-up mechanism fortheknitted web, 0 r,'on the otherhand, the take-up mechanism mayconstitute the receiver for said Web, an open framework, hence the termreceiver, as used in my claims, may, unless qualified by the context, beconstrued to mean either a receptacle in which the knitted Web.ispermitted to accumulate or appropriate take-up mechanism for theknitted web.

In the construction shown in Fig. 1 takeup mechanism is combined withthe re ceiver 5, said take-up mechanism comprising the usual pair oftake-up rolls geared togetherso as to rotate in. unison, one of thetake-up rolls being provided with a ratchet wheel 6 which is engaged bypawl 7 pivotally mounted upon a lever 8 hung to the receiver 5 and movedin one direction by a cam 9 and in the other direction by aspring-actuated plunger 9 contained in a casing 10 on the receiver. (SeeFig. 5).

The cam 9 forms part ot' a ring 9 which rests upon'a flange 11 on thereceiv but i is prevented from turning therewith by engagemeut of a pin12 thereon with a slotted bracket 12 mounted upon the fixed lowerframework of the machine, as shown in Fig. 1.

Usually in machines of' the type to which my intention relates thereceiver is permanently connected to the cylinder or its drive wheel andpartakes both of the rotary and reciprocating movements of the latterbut such construction is objectionable be-" cause the receiver isrelatively heavy and acquires considerable mome'ntumduring eachreciprocation of the cylinder, which momentum -:nust be overcome atevery change in the direction of reciprocation-of said cylinder with theresult that the machine is subjected to severe strains during the timethat reciprocating or to-and-fro knitting is be ing performed. Incarrying out my inven tion I relieve the machine from such strains byreleasing the receiver from engagement with the cylinder drive mechanismduring the time that reciprocating movement is being imparted to thelatter.

'lteferring first to Fig. 1 of'the drawings it will be noted that thecylinder carrier 3 has a depending tubular portion .whose lower end isprovided with teeth 13 which are adapted to engage with correspondingteeth 13" at the upper end of the tubular web receiver 5. T he latter iscapable of being raised so as to cause such engagement of the teeth 13and 13 or of being lowered so as to withdraw the teeth 13 fromengagement with the teeth 13, the means for effecting these movementsbeing shown in Fig; 1 and being as follows: The lower end of the webreceiver 5 has a depending rod 14 mounted so as to be free, to rotateand to rise and fall in a bearing in the lower portion of the fixedframe of the machine, said rod 14 being recessed at the lower end forthe reception of the upper portion of a ball 15 whose lower portionrests in the recessed upper end of a rod 16 mounted so as to be free torise and fall in a bearing in the fixed frame and resting at its lowerend upon one arm of a lever 17 pivoted to said fixed frame, and havingits other arm connected to the lower end of a rod 18 having anadjust-ing turn-buckle 19, and provided at its upper end with a head 20vertically slotted for the reception of a pin 21 on one arm of a lever22, the latter being pivotally mount ed 'on the fixed frame and havingon its other arm an antifriction roller, stud, or projection,'23, whichengages a cam ring 24k on a shaft 25, the latter being operated so as tohave a single turn during each complete cycle of operation of themachine and serving also to control the mechanism whereby change iseffected from rotating to reciprocatingmovement of the needle cylin der,as set forth in Letters Patent 726,178

so as to carry its teeth 13 3 and will rotate therewith.

before noted. The lever 22 is forked at one end for the reception ofthehead 20 of the rod 18 and this forked portion of the lever bears uponears 26 upon a sleeve 27 which is free to slide vertically upon theupper portion of the rod 18 and 'is supported by a coiled spring 28surrounding the rod and interposed between the sleeve 27 and a collar 29on the rod. The'cam ring 24 is so constructed, that, whenever thecylinder driving mechanism 15 shifted so as to change' the movementof'the cylinder from rotating to reciprocating, the lever 22 will beact-u ated so as to permit therod 18' to rise and the receiver 5 tofallsufliciently to carry its teeth 13 out of engagementwith the teeth13 of the cylinder carrier 3, and, Whenever the cylinderv drivingmechanism is actuated so as to change the movement of thecylinder fromreciprocating to rotary, the lever 22 will be actuated so as to forcethe rod 18 downwardly and thereby lift the receiver again intoengagement with the teeth- 13 of the cylinder carrier 3*. During thetime that the needle cylinder is being reeiprocated, therefore, in theformation of the heel or toe pocket upon the knitted tube, the receiver5 will be released from connection with the cylinder carrier and willremain in a quiescent condition, but during the time that the needlecylinder is being rotated the receiver will be in engagement with thecylinder carrier If the lever 22 should chance to be actuated at suchtime that the lift of the receiver would be prevented by contact of theends of the teeth 13, 13, the sleeve 27 will be depressed so as tocompress the spring 28 and as soon as the ends of the teeth and 13 havepassed each other the recoil of the spring 28 will serve to depress therod 18 and raise the receiver 5 so as to force the teeth 13 intoengagement with the teeth 13. Both sets of teeth are preferablystraight-sided as shown in Fig. 1 so that when in engagement anytendency to independent movement of either the needle carrier orreceiver will notforce the teeth out of engagement with one another.

In Fig. i I have shown a modification of the machine shown in Fig. 1,whereby the raising and lowering of the, web receiver and take-upmechanism is rendered unnecessary. In this modification a ring 60 isinterposed between the toothed upper end of the web receiver 5 and thetoothed lower end of the cylinder carrier 8, this ring being capable. ofbeing moved vertically by any suitable operating device as for instancea ring 61 pivoted at one side of the depending hub on the bed plate 1and engaged on the opposite side era-ting rod corresponding with theshown'in Fig.1, this ring having rod 18 at each side a pin 62 passingthrough a slot in said hub and engaging an annular groove 63 in thering. 60 so as to impart vertical movement thereto without interferingwith the rotary movement thereof. In thiscase the rod 18 may beconnected to the lever 22 by devices similar to those shown in Fig. l,and the rod 18 will, in such case, extend upwardly from the lever :22instead of downwardly therefrom. The ring 60 has teeth both upon-itsupper ahd lower edges, the teeth on the upper edge being deep and beingconstantly in engagement with corresponding deep teeth on thecylindercarrier 3 while the teeth on the lower edge of the ring are relativelyshallow and can thus be moved out of and into engagement with the teethon the upper ed e of the web receiver as the ring 601s raise andlowered.

I claim 1. The combination of a knitting machine having a rotating andreciprocating needle cylinder with a toothed member'thereon, awebreceiver also having a toothed member, and means whereby the toothedmember of the needle cylinder is put in or out of driving connectionwith the. toothed member of the web receiver. 2. The combination of aknitting achine having a rotating and reciprocating needle cylinder withtoothed member thereon, a web receiver also having a toothed member, amember interposed between said toothed members and having teeth forengaging with each, and means for moving.sa1d intermediate toothedmember so as to cause it to connect or disconnect the cylinder memberand receiver.

3. The combination of a knitting machine having a rotating andreciprocating needle cylinder with toothed member thereon, a webreceiver also-having a toothed member, a member interposed between saidtoothed members and having teeth in permanent engagement with one of theaforesaid toothed members but susceptible of movement so'as to carry itsteeth into or out of'engagement with the other of said toothed members-4. The combination of a knitting machine having a rotating andreciprocating, needle cylinder with toothed member, a web receiverlikewise having a toothed member,

mechanism for effecting change in the movements of the needle cylinderand mechanism cooperating with that which effects change in themovements of the needle cylinder and serving to operatively connect saidtoothed members during the rotating movements of the needle cylinder anddisconnect them during the reciprocating movements of the nee--disconnecting said toothed members, said means having as elementsmembers movable in respect to one another and a spring in terposedbetween them.

7. The combination of a knitting machine having a rotating andreciprocating needle cylinder with toothed-member, a web re- "ceiverlikewise having a toothed member,

means for operatively connecting and disconnecting saidtoothed members,and take up mechanism carried by said web receiver and having aselements ratchet mechanism, an actuating cam therefor mounted on the webreceiver, and means for engaging the vsaid cam so as to prevent rotationof the same with the web receiver.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribinglwitnesses.

" HARRY SWINGLEHURST.

Witnesses:

Anmnn M. BLADES, THERESA F. MURPHY.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. O.

